Six missing after Cessna 414 crashes into Pacific off San Diego coast in US

A Cessna 414 carrying six people crashed into the Pacific Ocean off San Diego on Sunday. The US Coast Guard has launched a search operation, while federal agencies probe the cause of the crash

A twin-engine Cessna 414 aircraft carrying six people crashed into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, California, on Sunday (June 8) afternoon. Following the major accident, a major search and rescue operation was launched by the US Coast Guard and other agencies.

 

According to the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the aircraft went down at approximately 12:30 pm (local time), shortly after taking off. The aircraft was reportedly en route to Phoenix, as per flight tracking data from Flightaware.com.

 

The crash site was located about five miles (8 km) west of the Point Loma peninsula, a San Diego neighbourhood that extends into the ocean. Coast Guard officials said the water depth beneath the debris field is estimated at around 200 feet (61 metres).

 

 

An eyewitness, Tyson Wislofsky, who was surfing nearby, told local broadcaster NBC 7 that he saw the aircraft descend at an angle, briefly ascend back into the clouds, and then dive steeply into the sea. “The next time he came out of the clouds, he went straight into the water,” Wislofsky said. “After I saw this splash, about six seconds later, it was dead silent. I knew that they went in the water, nose first, at a high speed.”

 

No identities of those on board have been released, and the Coast Guard has not yet confirmed any survivors. The FAA and the US National Transportation Safety Board have launched a joint investigation into the cause of the crash.

 

Significantly, this comes just three weeks after another fatal crash in the San Diego area in which a small Cessna aircraft went down in foggy conditions, killing six people.